Prime vs. Stability

Hi all. I have always gotten mixed answers to this question. So I wanted your experience.

I am experiencing a nitrite spike. 0.5 ppm yesterday. I did a 25% water change yesterday and added Prime and Stability like I do every time I perform a water change. Today it is reading at 0.25 ppm. Which is an improvement. My question is, do I add another dose of BOTH Prime and Stability? Or do I just add Stability? Some people tell me that Prime is not just a water conditioner and that it will also help get rid of nitrites and ammonia. But I'm not sure.

And yes, I know that high nitrites mean you have excess waste and are probably overfeeding. So I have decreased the amount of food.

A bit of info about the tank:

36 gallon bowfront. Houses 4 Dwarf Gourami (they get along perfectly and are not aggressive toward each other), 1 RTS, 3 Otto cats, and 6 nron tetras. I do not intend to add any more fish. Non-planted but has plenty of fake plants and other decor/hidey holes for everyone. Top fin sponge/ceramic rings filter. Gravel bottom. I did suction the gravel a BIT yesterday but did not remove the decor and do a full gravel vac. Pic added so you can see water clarity and get a general idea of setup.





PS: pH is 7.2

 

Stability isn't true nitrifying bacteria. Once they die they probably release nutrients back into the water.

It's highly unlikely that Prime actually detoxifies nitrite.

Chloride is scientifically proven to detoxify nitrite. Very little is needed.

 

Stability isn't true nitrifying bacteria. Once they die they probably release nutrients back into the water.

It's highly unlikely that Prime actually detoxifies nitrite.

Chloride is scientifically proven to detoxify nitrite. Very little is needed.

So do another partial water change? Should a vac the gravel some more or leave it be?

 

Prime is water conditioner/dechlorinator it will protect fish from Ammonia/ Nitrites under 1ppm for at least 24 hours.
Stability is bottle bacteria to establish BB.

Keep doing water changes and vacuum your gravel if you want.

 

Okay. I'll go ahead and do another partial today and move some of the ornaments around and vac the gravel under a couple of them.

 

Okay. I'll go ahead and do another partial today and move some of the ornaments around and vac the gravel under a couple of them.

Just do a little at a time since you are still cycling. Keep adding both until your are cycled.

 

I would do another water change and add both. If you just add prime without a water change in my opinion its not really helpful to your fish.

 

Hi all. I have always gotten mixed answers to this question. So I wanted your experience.

I am experiencing a nitrite spike. 0.5 ppm yesterday. I did a 25% water change yesterday and added Prime and Stability like I do every time I perform a water change. Today it is reading at 0.25 ppm. Which is an improvement. My question is, do I add another dose of BOTH Prime and Stability? Or do I just add Stability? Some people tell me that Prime is not just a water conditioner and that it will also help get rid of nitrites and ammonia. But I'm not sure.

Try to keep your ammonia plus nitrites at one or below. You may need to do either daily or every other day water changes to accomplish this. Add enough Prime to treat the full volume of your tank with each water change. In this case if you are doing daily water changes you will be adding Prime daily. If you are doing them every other day you will be adding Prime every other day. In other words just add Prime in conjunction with your water changes.

I am thinking Stability recommends adding it daily for a certain number of days. It may or may not help but I don't think it will hurt to keep adding it daily.

And yes, I know that high nitrites mean you have excess waste and are probably overfeeding. So I have decreased the amount of food.

Not necessarily. While going through the cycling process you will get a nitrite spike. That is part of the cycling process. Eventually you will grow enough nitrite eating bacteria to instantly consume it as the ammonia produces it.

Our tanks are constantly producing nitrites but once a cycle is complete we don't see them because the process in instant. Ammonia eating bacteria eats ammonia and Its waste is nitrites. Nitrite eating bacteria eats nitrates and that waste is nitrates. We remove the nitrates with water changes.

A bit of info about the tank:

36 gallon bowfront. Houses 4 Dwarf Gourami (they get along perfectly and are not aggressive toward each other), 1 RTS, 3 Otto cats, and 6 nron tetras. I do not intend to add any more fish. Non-planted but has plenty of fake plants and other decor/hidey holes for everyone. Top fin sponge/ceramic rings filter. Gravel bottom. I did suction the gravel a BIT yesterday but did not remove the decor and do a full gravel vac. Pic added so you can see water clarity and get a general idea of setup.

PS: pH is 7.2

The less you disturb this tank other than water changes the better it will be for the cycle. Bacteria is growing on all the surfaces in there so we want to allow them to grow and thrive. If your filter media needs it just gently rinse it off in some of the water you have pulled from the tank. What ever you do, don't remove and replace it.

 

I like your tank.

 

Thats the problem. This tank was previously fully cycled and all levels were perfect. The nitrite spike came out of nowhere. It has been set up for around 6 months.

 

Thats the problem. This tank was previously fully cycled and all levels were perfect. The nitrite spike came out of nowhere. It has been set up for around 6 months.

If that is the case I have to ask how often do you do water changes and how much do you change each time? I am a firm believer in keeping things balanced with water changes. I change at least 50% of the water in all of my tanks each week and then once a month I change out even more. I do this same thing in even my lightly stocked tanks.

 

If that is the case I have to ask how often do you do water changes and how much do you change each time? I am a firm believer in keeping things balanced with water changes. I change at least 50% of the water in all of my tanks each week and then once a month I change out even more. I do this same thing in even my lightly stocked tanks.

I change 25-50% of the water every 2 to 3 weeks. In previous tanks, this has always worked for me. The water levels are generally perfect. But this is my first tank in my new apartment. So I am wondering if the water here is different.

 

The only thing I can recommend is bigger water changes done more often to prevent this from continuing to happen. Sorry I couldn't have been more help.

 

Tip: Stability works best if you dilute the recommended dosage into 240 ml of your tank water, then pour it directly into you filter.

I picked this up from using MicroBacter 7, which recommends this technique and is essentially the same as Stability.